A 3rd District Court judge assigned to Silver Summit voluntarily removed herself from a foreclosure case between Wells Fargo and 14 defendants, including firms under the Talisker corporate umbrella, based on a conflict of interest.

Kara Pettit, who was appointed a judge in September and took the bench in October, on March 3 signed a one-page document indicating she would recuse herself from the case.

Pettit had been an attorney with the Salt Lake City law firm of Snow, Christensen & Martineau prior to her appointment. Pettit was one of the attorneys who had an important role during the bitterly contested lawsuit between Park City Mountain Resort and Talisker Land Holdings, LLC that ended with the sale of PCMR to Vail Resorts in 2014.

Pettit was a key member of the team that represented Talisker Land Holdings, LLC and Vail Resorts. John Lund, another Snow, Christensen & Martineau attorney, was the lead attorney, but Pettit was often seen as well. Her name was attached to some of the important filings in the case.

Talisker Land Holdings, LLC is one of the defendants in the Wells Fargo case.

"Due to a prior professional association, I must recuse myself from this case," Pettit wrote in the March 3 document.

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The case was assigned to Todd Shaughnessy, another 3rd District Court judge at Silver Summit. Pettit’s name is included on some of the early filings in the Wells Fargo case.